Like identical twins, just because e-books and print books are born from the same material does not mean they behave or even look like carbon copies. Finding ways to bring out the different but equal potential in each will allow for well-adjusted creations who don’t need literary therapy at a later date.
From the IDPF 2009 Digital Book Summit, three major considerations came to light.
It’s finally happening. The eBook is coming to fruition as a thing that some people want. It didn’t work with Rocket EBook, but with new technologies—eInk, wireless readers, smart phones, etc—people are reading books off of a screen.
BookNet Canada and the Association of Canadian Publisher’s EPUB Boot Camp was a great introduction to the format and general overview of the available tech.
Before I joined the BookNet gang as their wily intern, I was (and still am) a coordinating editor at a small literary press. Admittedly, I had seen the electronic book and the online world to some extent, a dystopian literary landscape composed entirely of celebrity scandal pics and text-message shout outs to various boo’s across the cyber-sphere.
I learned a lot. The BNC Technology Forum 2008 was a great conference and really opened my eyes to the possibilities of the future, and specifically how small presses have an incredible advantage right now. Publishers need to embrace the new mediums and prosper. In that vein, I’ve created a list of five things every small publisher should consider when evaluating their place in this brave new world.
BookNet Canada is a non-profit organization that develops technology, standards, and education to serve the Canadian book industry. Founded in 2002 to address systemic challenges in the industry, BookNet Canada supports publishing companies, booksellers, wholesalers, distributors, sales agents, industry associations, literary agents, media, and libraries across the country.
